For all of the stars that have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, you’ll find but a fraction of them are women. For every ten men, there is probably about one woman. While partly, this enforces wrestling’s prejudice against women, it’s not entirely WWE’s fault either. With women’s wrestling so sparse before the Attitude era, there hasn’t really been anyone to induct. And since WWE’s female wrestlers became Divas, the stars we’ve come to know and love over the past decade or so seem all too ‘new’ to be inducted just yet. However…
The Class of 2009 seems to be the most progressive bunch yet, as the lead inductee of this year’s Hall of Fame is none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man who defined the Attitude era. And since the Hall of Fame is getting more up-to-date with its inductees, it seems like a few of the older generation of Divas are ready to slip through the cracks and are ready for the Hall of Fame. I’m not saying every Sunny and Terri deserves a spot in the Class of ’09, of course you would have to have made a well-recognised, outstanding contribution to the business to be considered. There is one Diva who I think should be inducted this year and her name is oft associated with a whiplash. That iconic entrance theme exudes the sultriness and sexiness that this Diva possessed in her heyday, of course I am talking about Sable.
It would be fitting to induct the Superstar who defined the Attitude era and the Diva who defined the Attitude era in the same year. If we can look past her somewhat misguided return to the company in 2003, Sable’s career in the late ’90s burgeoned at rocket-speed. Her popularity rivalled the likes of Stone Cold and The Rock and to this day, has been unmatched. A bold statement, I know but I find it to be true.
While Trish Stratus is clearly the better all around Diva, by the time she came to prominence, the audience had sloped off. The audiences who watched the Attitude era in the ’90s had halved by the ‘noughties’ in those unfortunate Spike TV years, thus Trish, although she deserved it, didn’t quite manage to reach the entire arena in the way Sable could.
Sable was almost a trial run for the likes of Trish, Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler – and before them, Debra and The Kat. She was the epitome of ‘bombshell’ though not a wrestler, learned her craft on the job. Her popularity was a catalyst for the launch of the women’s division we know today. I’m not saying it was the only reason, but it was certainly one. She may not have been the best wrestler but she was certainly a pioneer and though her 2003 comeback may have stalwarted her chances, I don’t think that’s any reason to begrudge Sable what I truly think she deserves: a spot in the Hall of Fame, Class of 2009.
